Goddess of the Deep
by CandieQueeN777
Summary: Despite being taught that they were dangerous she's always been infatuated with the human race and the world above, even daring to venture onto their territory with the help of a wicked sea sorceress. There was so much more to learn about humans and the way they lived and she was willing to take the risk of paying the ultimate price. MERMAID AU. [Candice/OC] *ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer- I **DO NOT** own any of the WWE Superstars or Divas mentioned in this story. This is purely a fictional based tale written for entertainment purposes._

 ** _Author's Note: This will be part one of a three shot drabble._**

 ** _Review and Enjoy._**

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Thousands of years ago, there once existed a majestic island located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean populated by a noble and powerful race. The natives of this nation possessed great wealth and ageless beauty thanks to the natural resources found throughout their land, which sustained their long livelihood. The island was very much secluded from the rest of the world, but it grew to be one of the most advanced societies ever known to man.

This place came to be known as Atlantis.

Atlantis was also the domain of the sea god, Poseidon, who was the creator and ruler of the nation. Poseidon held sway over the people and banished all that dared to test his might from the land.

For several ages the Atlanteans lived peaceful, carefree lives, but overtime their ways began to change. Their thirst for power began to control them. When Poseidon saw the corruption of the Atlanteans it angered him greatly and within an instant, the entire island had been swallowed up in a great earthquake and submerged deep beneath the ocean waters of the Atlantic.

After the destruction of the former civilization of Atlantis, Poseidon recreated the city but it remained under the sea.

The deserted ruins of Atlantis soon came to be a beautiful underwater kingdom that stretched for miles made with giant stone walls and stone pillars. A long trail led to the city where two large gates were located outside of the castle, which were the only way into and out of the city. The newly reborn kingdom flourished exceedingly with an abundance of sea life, including vibrantly colored fish, squid, dolphins and other aquatic animals, but the most fascinating sea creatures were known as merpeople or mermaids.

A mermaid is a mythical creature that is half human and half fish. These alluring creatures had angelic singing voices and were said to bring about good fortune to humans by giving them cures for illnesses or granting them wishes. It's also believed that mermaids possess magic powers and could use them at will. Being their birthplace and an ancient mystical civilization, it's no surprise that Atlantis was where the magic of the mermaids came to life. No one knows how these characters came to be, but if one had to guess, it's possible that these beings originated from the ancient Atlantis birthstone. This birthstone was forged by Poseidon himself in an effort to recreate human-like creatures to thrive and rule over the new under water kingdom. This proved to be successful and the mystical birthstone of Atlantis sustained the existence of the merpeople for countless generations.

As time progressed and humankind evolved, so did the denizens of the deep. It wasn't long before pirates and sailors came face to face with these beings and told their tales of the underwater inhabitants to many other land dwellers, but most weren't too pleased to hear that these potentially dangerous and mysterious characters were living among them. In fact, most humans believed mermaids to be an omen of death, evil beings and a threat to human society. For this belief, many mermaids and mermen were killed upon sight, their blood spilled at the hands of human sailors and pirates and their tails kept as trophies.

News of the humans' actions soon reached the realm of the merpeople and greatly distressed them. Growing fearful and weary of this cruelty towards their kind, the new rulers of Atlantis established a new law and prohibited all merfolk from swimming to the surface world. This rule was not only meant to protect their civilization from being harmed, but to keep the population of their realm from being eradicated.

This law remained active for a lengthy period of time, even after the next generation of rulers, King Hunter and Queen Stephanie, took authority over the domain. Of course a majority of the merfolk were in agreement with the rule. However, there were the occasional few who didn't; specifically one mermaid in particular.

Last night she tried to convince her friends, Jeff and Maria, to swim to the surface with her, but without a second thought they both declined. She couldn't fault them though. They all knew that humans were **dangerous** with the capability to **harm** merfolk if they desired to.

The mermaid grew melancholy in spirit. She knew she wasn't suppose to defy the laws of their kingdom, but she just couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore. All of her life she had lived under the sea, in the city of Atlantis and while she loved her home, there was always a part of her that wanted to experience the world above.

 _What would it be like to roll around in the sand?_

 _To walk or run?_

 _To go wherever you please?_

She just had to know...

She quickly caught herself daydreaming again and sighed. " _Not all humans could hate us, could they?"_

Throughout her room she had collected tons of doohickeys from the surface world such as bottles, coins, and lost jewelry. But nothing could top what she desired most... _To meet a **real human.**_

 ** _*Flashback*_**

"Why do you think humans hate us so much?"

"The same reason they hate practically anything, Candice. They don't understand us. They fear us." Jeff stated clearly as they swam past a small school of clownfish and neon colored coral reefs. He was one of the most handsome and colorful mermen of the sea with light skin, a well defined body and his short hair a vivid mixture of red, blue and green. His tail was a deep emerald green and amber color with a small shade of red on the edges of his fin.

"Jeff is right. It's too dangerous. You'd be flirting with death if you carelessly decided to mess with one," Maria added. "It's best not to bother." Maria was stunning. She had fair skin and reddish-brown hair that was almost waist length. Her tail was a bright teal color and a salmon tinted seashell bra covered her upper torso. She smiled as she saw one of the clownfish float past her.

Candice glanced up mesmerized by the sunlight shining through the waves of the ocean. "I suppose so, but don't you ever get curious as to what it would be like to meet one?" She was also one of the most beautiful mermaids in all of Atlantis sprouting dark, hip-length tresses and slightly bronzed skin. She wore a ruby red seashell bra that matched her long, flame red tail that shimmered in the sunlight.

Maria and Jeff looked at each other then to Candice. "Nope."

Jeff swam over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "We just don't want anything to happen to you. Don't you know the history of our people and how they were slain by humans?"

She nodded. "Of course I do, Jeff..."

A brief silence passed between the trio until Maria spoke up again. "Well I better get going. Torrie's sick and I promised I'd stop by to check up on her," She said. "But I'll catch up with you guys later."

"See ya." Jeff waved and Candice bid farewell also before the two turned their attention back to one another, "I should probably go too. I'm suppose to teach an art class today."

Candice nodded as he pulled her into a hug. "Stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I've heard it before." She replied with a slight smile before watching the radiant merman swim away.

Taking a seat on the colorful reef beside her, Candice breathed out a moan. Why couldn't humans and merpeople get along and why did humans think they were dangerous? She couldn't fathom the thought of hurting someone just because they were different from her. That would be ridiculous. So why did humans do it?

She watched as her dolphin friend, Luna, circled around her and greeted her eagerly. "Hello to you too, my lady. Are you ready for another adventure?"

Luna chirped happily and Candice laughed. "Alright, let's go see what today has in store for us."

 ***End Flashback***

As she sadly studied her collection the flashback of her friends' words replayed in her mind. She refused to believe that _all_ humans were the horrible, depraved people she was told about as a little one.

 _"I wanna know for myself."_ Candice thought to herself as she gazed at the surface above.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who has taken time out to read this, especially **shiki94.** You rock! Be sure to check out her story - **Bayley's Universe** and also check out - **Part of Your World** by caylender. They're both great writers and I'm sure you'll enjoy their work._

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The following day went about it's usually routine of the merpeople carrying out their daily tasks of running council meetings, organizing miscellaneous events and other important responsibilities. It seemed to be all there was to do as a mermaid in Atlantis and it was beginning to become a bore, at least to Candice anyways. When she wasn't occupied with her assignments or being a care taker, she and Luna would often go around in search of what she called, "Human Treasures," and collect them to add to her other treasures. It was fun, thrilling and she definitely enjoyed it, but now she wanted to **experience** _their_ world. There was so much more to learn about the humans and the way they lived and she was willing to take the risk of paying the ultimate price.

Far across the ocean in an isolated cave, there lived Atlantis's one and only sea sorceress. This sorceress was known throughout the kingdom for her extraordinary knowledge of the ancient black arts of Atlantis and her menacing behavior. Most of the other merfolk were frightened or simply despised the sea witch entirely for these reasons and kept away from her unholy abode. Even so, Candice would still dare to venture into the witch's territory seeking help and hope.

She remembered the stories told to her by other merfolk and how they described the witch as, "Selfish, vile and terrifying beyond all reason." They also filled her in on the witch's past endeavors of trying to use her sorcery to overthrow King Hunter and Queen Stephanie and take over as the sole ruler of Atlantis. However, her efforts backfired when the council discovered her wicked plot and reported back to them. As a result, the witch was banished from the kingdom and sentenced to live out the rest of her days in isolation and darkness.

 _How lonely and miserable it must be - To live out the rest of your life companionless and all alone..._

Of course all of this occurred before her existence came to be, but regardless of the stories or how intimidating the witch was made out to be, the curiosity of the mermaid remained strong. So, she made peace with her decision to visit the witch and she would do so today.

...

Upon entering through the cold, gloomy caves of the dark witch's sanctuary, the first thing Candice spotted was what appeared to be human remains and skulls that the witch proudly displayed about the lair. Poor mortals. There was no telling what she could have done to them. As she swam further, she couldn't believe her eyes. Below her were tall, stone statues of merpeople completely frozen in time with expressions of sorrow on their faces. They had become prisoners within themselves - nothing more than lifeless pawns and now they belonged to _her._ Candice felt a deep grief wash over her as she pressed forward deeper into the darkness of the lair.

How could one be so cruel and wicked, yet bare no shame, no guilt?

She had to admit, the thought of becoming one of the witch's lifeless statues sent a dreadful chill down her tail, but Candice didn't allow her concerns to stop her now. She would worry about the consequences later, so she drowned out the voices and warnings in her head and focused on the mission at hand.

"Who dares to disturb my lair?" Came a disturbing, unsettling disembodied voice.

Candice felt her body completely freeze up. Part of her wanted to shoot out of that cave and swim back home where she would be safe, but the other wouldn't let her. Not until she got what she wanted. "Um... H-Hi, I'm Can-"

"I know who you are, darling," the witch interrupted. "I know you better than you know yourself. In fact, I know all of you slimy little sea puppets." Finally emerging from the darkness, the mysterious sorceress unveiled herself. She wasn't ugly, but in fact decent looking. Her hair was a mixture of black and red curls that fanned out in front of her face, slightly shadowing it and her tail was a dark midnight black with a matching black seashell bra concealing her chest. Her face held an expression of annoyance as she glared down at the younger mermaid across from her.

"You do?"

The witch gestured a nod as she slowly approached her. "Indeed. You're Candice Michelle, the mermaid whose beauty could rival that of Aphrodite herself.

"I am. Tell me, are you Enchantress Victoria?"

She chuckled for a moment, placing a hand on the younger mermaid's shoulder. "You mean the most powerful sorceress in all of Atlantis? Why of course I am, you silly girl. Let me guess, you've come to my lair in dire need of a wish?"

"Yes," the young mermaid nodded. "I need you to make me a human."

"A human, you say?" The witch raised a brow. "Well this is quite the request. Unfortunately my wishes come with a price."

Candice raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Expressing an annoyed groan, Enchantress Victoria lowered her face into her hands. "Ugh... don't be so foolish, you halfwit! It's very simple; In order for me to grant your wish, I'll need something precious to you as payment."

"You can have whatever you want." Candice stated with a hard tone, fighting to be as brave as possible.

"Including your beauty?" She leaned in with a smirk. "Are you willing to sacrifice your appearance, Candice?" She cackled an evil laughter that could soil the pants of small children - that is, if they lived under the sea.

This was it. It was now or never. She had to make the ultimate decision: Risk everything for a chance to live as a human, or turn back. As she thought of the pros and cons facing her in that moment, she stared to reflect back on the words of Maria and Jeff.

 _"Don't you know the history of our people and how they were slain by humans?"_ She could practically hear the harsh tone behind Jeff's words.

 _"You'd be flirting with death if you carelessly decided to mess with one. It's best not to bother."_ Maria's words stung even harder.

Luna began to chirp loudly pulling Candice from her dazed state. It was almost as if she was pleading with the mermaid as well.

"Well...?" Came Enchantress Victoria's voice, who was now beginning to grow impatient.

"You can have it." She replied confidently.

The witch hid a grin as she swam over to an assortment of potions, selecting a small vial with a bright blue colored liquid inside before swimming back over to her 'client.' "Now, here's the deal. Once you drink this potion, you will transform into a human for **three** days. Got that?

Candice shook her head.

"Now this last part is the most important, so listen up! Before the sun sets on the third day, you Candice, will have to return back to the sea... your true home. If you manage to do so, I'll gladly restore your appearance, but fail to accomplish this and the sun sets _before_ you return home, YOU will dissolve into nothing more than sea foam and your soul will wander the earth in loneliness for all **eternity**!"

"Sea foam? Loneliness for an eternity?"

"That's right, my dear. So... do you accept this agreement?" The sorceress grinned as she raised a brow.

She gestured another nod and the witch handed her the vial right before she swam over to her giant throne made from human skulls and sat down. Raising her crystal staff, the enchantress began to chant a spell in the ancient language of the Atlanteans. A poof of smoke here, and a cloud of dust there, then she pointed the orb of the crystal staff at Candice and Luna, who was hiding behind her, but more specifically at Candice. A zap of purple energy suddenly engulfed the sea maiden, seemingly sucking the life force out of her as the sea witch began to steal her youth. Beside her, the smoky, grey dolphin chittered uneasily as she helplessly watched her mermaid friend experience the terror of her life.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Enchantress Victoria's spell was over and everything went silent. Candice opened her eyes and looked around. Everything appeared to be normal, but she had a funny feeling on the inside, like she really wasn't herself anymore. She held her arms out so that she could see her hands **-** that's when she discovered that the spell had actually aged her, just like a human. She reached up and placed a hand against her face, her once smooth skin complexion now felt old and wrinkly, even the rest of her body had changed into something she couldn't recognize.

Again came the mage's voice. "Liking your new appearance yet, Candice?" She asked with the hint of amusement.

No response came from her as she was still in shock of everything that just took place. " _I hope I don't regret this later."_ Were the only words that she could think of. She took a look at the blue liquid in the vial and released a breath that she wasn't aware she was holding and popped the top off of the container. Downing the contents, she immediately started to feel the effects of the potion working within. It wasn't long before a surge of pain shot through her tail, and Candice let out multiple, ear piercing cries. Her long, shimmering tail was soon transformed into a pair of human legs, but now she was in grave danger. She needed to get to the surface, otherwise she was going to drown. Quickly she grabbed ahold of Luna, and together they headed for the surface world.

"Farewell Candice!" Victoria cackled watching the mermaid take leave. "Such a naïve little mermaid, just like all the rest."

...

The horizon was glinting with a beautiful gold tint as waves of the sea danced against the shoreline, dousing the soft, sandy beach and jagged rocks around the vicinity. Pelicans glided across the bay and seagulls squawked overhead, occasionally plunging down and pouncing on their prey to fuel their perpetual hunger.

Later that day, a lone fisherman cruised across the majestic waters of the Atlantic going about his usual routine of gathering fish with his net, the hum of the boat buzzing beneath the surface. He inhaled the briny air as a strong gust of wind whipped against his face, his hair catching the breeze slightly. The kiss of the sun against his skin tingled but it was welcomed by the fisherman as he peered out over the ocean mesmerized by it's eternal beauty.

Patiently waiting while the net filled up with what would hopefully be his dinner for tonight, the man took in the sights of the harmonious sea, until all of a sudden he felt something heavy in the net below. As he reeled the net back into the boat to unload his catch he was astonished by what he managed to capture.

 _"A woman?"_

Pulling the woman inside of the fishing boat, he quickly checked for a pulse and to his surprise, she was still alive and breathing on her own. _"That's odd."_ He thought to himself, but was delighted nevertheless. He grabbed a bundle of blankets and draped them across the woman's body for warmth before turning the fishing boat around and heading to shore.

...

Now beginning to awaken from her sleeping slumber, Candice groaned, slowly rolling over and nuzzling into the softness of something unfamiliar to her, but something was wrong. The environment surrounding her didn't feel accurate, so slowly cracking open her bright brown eyes, she carefully surveyed the room.

"What the-" She shot up in a severe jolt as her senses quickly returned. _Where the hell was she?_

This place was strange and it was definitely not within her comfort zone, but puzzling and in a lot of ways alarming. Had she been captured...? Just how much trouble had she gotten herself into? Her heart raced as all of these nerve-racking thoughts rushed freely through her mind so much so that her body started to involuntary tremble and her stomach fluttered with an uneasy queasiness. Fear was taking over, setting in fast, and right now there was nothing in the world that would relieve her of her thoughts and troubles.

Beads of sweat began to form, damping her forehead as she fought to calm herself down, "Okay Candice, remain calm. You're fine."

Moments after regaining her composure, she hesitantly pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed hitting the ground with a hard thud. Luckily she didn't hurt herself, but she did feel the impact against the floor. While tending to the aching spot, her jaw dropped in awe. Attached to her lower torso were a pair of long, beautiful human legs. Candice smiled as she trailed her hands across the smooth, delicate skin. It was almost too good to be true.

"It actually worked!" She muttered bringing her foot up in the air and wiggling her toes delightedly. She had forgotten all about her fears, that is until she heard a strange noise from another part of the unfamiliar residence. Quickly dashing for the bed, she hid under the covers in hopes of hiding herself from who or whatever she was about to come face to face with.

Silently laying there, she could hear something slam, slightly rattling the walls a bit, then another noise, something like a squeak, but this one seemed closer now. Worry washed over her as she once again fought to contain her fears.

"Hey, are you awake?" The voice asked softly.

Right away she recognized the voice as male. She let out a whimper slightly peeking from beneath the covers and instantly their eyes made contact. The man before her was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Not only was he attractive, but she was face to face with a real, live flesh-made human! As they stared at one another, time seemed to come to a standstill. Her eyes traced his nicely built muscles and trailed down the rest of his frame to the odd apparel he wore. The features of his face were much stronger than what she was use to seeing amongst the mermen of the sea, nevertheless it worked in his favor only adding to his charm.

Even though they were a few feet away from one another, Candice could make out the amused smile that showcased his cheek dimples rather obviously as he studied her a bit more. She found that his eyes were a deeper shade of chocolate and radiated with a warm glow that reminded her of the sandy ocean floor. They were captivating with a bit of a puffiness to them. His shoulder length hair was as dark as onyx and held a wavy texture to it.

"Who are you?" Candice asked bringing the comforter across her face so that now only her eyes were exposed. Nervousness was starting to set in once she realized that they were alone and he was perfectly able to do harm to her... that is if he wished to, and nothing nor anyone would come to her rescue if he did. She watched the man walk towards the foot of the bed inching closer to her before pulling the blanket over the rest of her face.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you." The man spoke in a low but friendly tone. He slowly sat down on the edge of the bed next to her feet and placed a large brown paper bag beside her, apparently just as nervous as she was. "I figured you might be hungry so I decided to bring you something to eat."

The aroma of the food was quite strange. It didn't smell briny or fishy much to Candice's expectations, but still delicious. Removing the covers from her face, the mermaid sat up and took the bag, her curiosity once again coming into play. Inside the bag was a tray. Candice pulled it out and opened it revealing different food items that she hadn't ever seen before. She studied each item as if trying to make sense of them. "What is it?" She asked the man meeting his gaze once more.

The man raised a brow, "What do you mean? It's a breakfast platter. I didn't know what to get you exactly so I decided on this since it comes with a little bit of everything. You can take what you don't like off or give it to me if you want."

Candice stared down at the tray right before picking up one of the food items. It was a dark brown color and shaped like a circle. She took a small bite out of it and swallowed with a grin. "Hey, that's not bad! What was it?"

"It's a sausage patty. Those fluffy yellow things are eggs, and the big round things are pancakes. Here's a fork to use."

"Fork?"

"Yeah...you use it to pick the food up, like this," He said giving her a demonstration and handing it over.

It was made from some strange, flexible material unrecognized by her that she happened to find fascinating. To most individuals, a fork wouldn't really be something to pick up their interest. But to Candice it was a unique creation, something she wouldn't mind adding to her collection back home in Atlantis. She attempted to pick up one of the pancakes, but quickly found it difficult to keep the utensil laced between her fingers. Another try, but still no success. With her last effort she managed to actually pick it up with the prongs, but the pancake tore apart and fell back into the tray.

Why did man-made contraptions have to be so difficult to use?

Candice felt her frustrations surfacing. "Why won't it stay on the fork?"

"Try cutting the food into smaller pieces then pick it up, like this..." The young male demonstrated to her once more.

She carefully observed his demo and nodded following the man's example by first cutting into the stack of flapjacks and once again sticking the fork into the warm, fluffy griddle cakes, and finally the young mermaid was able to successfully bring the food to her taste buds and delight in the mouth-watering edibles of what the humans called, 'Pancakes.'

A smiled formed on her face as she started to chew the syrupy cakes, which indicated she was more than pleased. "Mmm, this is the best day ever!"

The man gave her a strange look before laughing. Didn't everyone know what pancakes were? He turned his body around a little more to face her and asked, "So what's your name?"

"It's Candice and yours?"

"Elias," he stated with a gleam in his eye.

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 _ **Author's Note:** Originally this was suppose to be a three shot drabble as I stated in the previous chapter, but after I started to came up with more ideas for this story I have now decided that this will be full story. So what do you guys think about Candice's decision? Do you think she made the right choice or do you think she's going to start to regret it? _


End file.
